Beyond Freezing

This winter has been exceptionally cold to say the least.  The buildings here in Miyazaki are not insulated very well, and it doesn't help that the weather is like 30 degrees every day.  The mornings are very dark so it's hard to get up.  Needless to say, I can't wait to get myself close to the nearest heater.

But, on a different note, yesterday I ran my first half of 2018.  The half was in Mimata.  Of course, it was cold and raining, but i decided to still run it.  It was very different for me because the usual half that I run, there are many people to get scrambled with.  However, this half was different..there were only about 200, and maybe only a handful of ladies.  In a way, this made me push myself harder even though I didn't train for this run.  I didn't want to be the last one.  To my surprise I beat my goal time of 2:30, and finished the race in 2:10.  I was really surprised actually.  But, even finishing the race with a faster goal time, in the end I think I was still like 14something/ 200 people. yikes.

After the run, I treated myself to a yummy dinner and some well deserved drinks. mmm

xoxo,e 

To Stay or not to Stay

     So, so far , I've been living in Japan for about four months.  My contract is for an entire year, however, the board of education has asked that we let them know if we are staying for another year or not at the end of this year essentially.  In my opinion, I think this is WAY too short notice to know for sure whether or not someone is to stay for another WHOLE year after the first years contact has ended.

     Right now, I think I am about 50/50.  If I think about it, thats 50% higher than when I initially had come here.  I was only panning to stay for one year, but living and working here has hit a soft spot of mine.  I don't see how so many people could already have their minds set on staying or going back home.  I think if I were a few years younger, I would have no problem staying if I really liked my placement.  However, i'm 24, and if I stay for another year, i'd be going back home when i'm 26!!  Yikes!  There are so many things that I have to think about when the idea of re- contracting comes up.  The school I work at is great, the local people i've met are nice, and my situation as a whole is pretty good.  There are just so many things to consider.  I don't know what to dots frustrating.  

Japan

       For those of you who don't know, I've been living and working in Japan for the past three and and a half months.  For the most part, I am really enjoying my time spent here.  However, there are a lot of things that I had to get used to.  For one, everything here seems to be a bit dated.  Where I live, people live simply and they get by with what they have.  There have been days where I even see older men and women farming for crops.  It's quite amazing actually.  Another big thing I had to get used to was doing laundry.  In Japan, they don't have dryers so most everything needs to be hung dry.  This was an issue for me because I like my clothes to shrink back after wearing them all day.  Never the less, the negatives always balance with the positives.

      There are so many things I wish I could take back to the states too.  For instance, I wish that I could take back the mannerisms and politeness.  It amazes me everyday to see how kind the people are here.  Also, the town that I live in seems to be located in such a beautiful area.  There is nature all around me.  I love it.  Moving here really has been the change that I needed.  Moving away from a big city, into a smaller town has proven to be quite nice.  However, I do miss the convenience of living in San Francisco.  I am enjoying my time here as well.

xoxo,e